Love 101: Can You Forgive A Cheater?

At this point, itâ€™s redundant to dissect the various political sexcapades of late (although, if you canâ€™t get enough, thereâ€™s a great new book of um, politician erotica out called Sex for America). But all that talk of cheating has many of us civilians looking over our partnersâ€™ shoulders. And I think every woman cringed a little when we saw Silda, tear-stained yet stoic, standing by the man that publicly shamed her. Would you do the same?Michael Douglasâ€™ infamous character thought his dalliance with Glenn Close wasnâ€™t such a big deal, but you bet he got the message when that bunny was cooking on the stove.
Most women swear up and down they would ditch that no-good lyinâ€™, cheatinâ€™ dirty dawg and kick his ass on the way out the door. Would they really though? How can you know unless youâ€™re in that situation? Maybe I ate too many crazy pills for breakfast, but in some ways, Silda had a perfectly rational excuse for forgiving her husbandâ€™s philandering. Itâ€™s not like he was having a full-on affair. He was paying money for a service designed to provide whatever sexual needs he clearly felt were lacking in his marriage. Doing it doesnâ€™t get much more impersonal than that. Iâ€™m not saying he didnâ€™t screw up, but on the cheating scale, some might consider sex with a prostitute merely one step away from getting a private dance at a strip club.

As damaging as any sort of infidelityâ€”no matter where it sits on some imaginary scaleâ€”can be, far less forgivable is the premeditated cheat (this sexual encounter usually occurs soon after a couple has confronted the â€œbut weâ€™re just friendsâ€ A.K.A. emotional infidelity argument). The word â€œharmlessâ€ is often used to explain such affairs by the guilty party when they get busted, but no emotional attachment, no matter what the depth, is truly benign, now is it? I mean, Michael Douglasâ€™ infamous character thought his dalliance with Glenn Close wasnâ€™t such a big deal, but you bet he got the message when that bunny was cooking on the stove.

Of course, some cheaters argue that theyâ€™re just not monogamous. If this is the case, point those freewheelers in the direction of OpeningUp.net, a new open relationship site started by Tristan Taormino, who just came out with the open relationship tome, Opening Up. Normally, her book would just be one more love and relationship guide to write off, but Tristan, a journalist, sex educator and gay rights advocate among other pursuits, is incredibly articulate and even persuasive when it comes to arguing the merits of the polyamorous lifestyle. But as exciting as all that sounds (why, Iâ€™m imagining my potential harem right now), Iâ€™m positive that she would never advocate telling one partner youâ€™re all faithful and then boning behind their back.

And as for poor Silda, holding her head high? If I found out my partner cheated on me with a prostitute, Iâ€™d be furious at him for not being more honest about his sexual needs. Would I leave him for good? Iâ€™m not sure. Drunk make out a party? Meh. But if he had sex with someone he was actually forming (or had a pre-existing) emotional attachment to? Now that sounds like a deal breaker. What do you think?

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